ABSTRACT
Europe is facing three crises: the crisis of its national ‘real-existing’ democracies; the crisis of the regional institutions of the European Union and the crisis of the common European currency. Each has its independent origins and characteristics. National, liberal, representative democracy existed before the initiation of the European integration process – at least, in Western Europe – and only subsequently became a prerequisite for membership in it. The European Union existed for some time and was functioning reasonably well without a common currency. The Euro was thrust upon its member-states mainly due to German re-unification and only 17 of 27 of them eventually decided to join it.
